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Australia unsure on Green and Inglis as they weigh changes for Gqeberha

Coach Andrew McDonald says Cameron Green is progressing but has not batted yet. Cooper Connolly's spin is back in the reckoning for the second Test from Sunday.

From the editorial desk · GqeberhaPublished
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis (file photos)
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis (file photos)Photos: WikiWanderer261 / Wikimedia Commons; Prime Video AU & NZ / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY 3.0

Key points

  1. Cameron Green has not started batting after his abdominal injury.
  2. Josh Inglis is still working with a splint on his finger.
  3. Australia lead the three-Test series 1-0 after a 214-run win in Durban.

Australia go into the second Test against South Africa at St George’s Park on Sunday still unsure whether Cameron Green or Josh Inglis will be fit, and with their batting order open to change.

Green missed the series opener in Durban with an abdominal injury, a soft-tissue problem picked up after he was struck by a full toss in an ODI before the Tests. He has been sprinting but not batting. “Cam hasn’t started batting yet,” coach Andrew McDonald said. “He’s got a few things to go through in the next three, four days.”

McDonald said Green was “progressing well” but would not confirm his return. Even if he plays, he will not bowl on this tour.

That matters for Cooper Connolly, who missed the first Test with a head cold. His spin bowling gives Australia a bowling option Green cannot provide, and he is under consideration for Gqeberha.

Inglis, the reserve wicketkeeper, injured a finger in last month’s ODI series and is wearing a splint. He batted in the nets during a lunch break in Durban, which McDonald said “went well”, and he will have bat-against-ball sessions in Gqeberha before a call is made.

Where Renshaw bats

Matt Renshaw was the standout batter in Durban, batting at No. 5 partly because the selectors liked his game against spin. Whether he opens in Gqeberha is undecided. “We’re really open-minded to what that means,” McDonald said.

He also backed Nic Maddinson, who struggled in the first innings in Durban before an attacking 48 in the second. “I think Nic Maddinson is a very mature player who will assess the conditions,” McDonald said. Beau Webster’s place is also under discussion.

Australia lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning by 214 runs. South Africa have already named their side for Gqeberha, dropping Tristan Stubbs and recalling Matthew Breetzke. The third Test is in Cape Town from 27 to 31 October.

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